Method and apparatus for administering hypodermic injections



Sept. 22, 1970 J FERBER 3,530,492

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ADMINISTERING HYPODERMIC INJECTIONS Filed Dec. 5, 1967 INVENTOR JACK RICHARD FERBER ATTORNEYS itecl States 3,530,492 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ADMINISTERIN G HYPODERMIC INJECTIONS Jack R. Ferher, 40-18 170th St., Flushing, N.Y. 10058 Filed Dec. 5, 1967, Sen. No. 688,070 Int. Cl. A61m 5/00, 25/00 US. Cl. 128221 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to a method for administering a hypodermic injection and to a hypodermic needle for practicing the method. More particularly, the invention relates to a method for administering a hypodermic injection with a blunt-nosed hypodermic needle.

Description of the prior art The common hypodermic needle employed by physicians and dentists is a slender tubular member having a very sharp tip for piercing and penetrating the skin of a patient. It is widely appreciated that the sharp tip of the prior art hypodermic needle cuts through tissue as it penetrates, invariably causing some degree of damage and sometimes causing serious damage by entering blood vessels or puncturing nerves. In fact, even bone damage has been caused by the sharp tip of the hypodermic needle.

High pressure spray devices have been developed to deliver fluid beneath the skin surface without effecting a rupture thereof but these devices are expensive, cumbersome and of no use when the purpose of the injection is to withdraw fluid rather than to deliver it. In addition, spray devices cannot deliver fluid accurately to a particular locus as required in administering a local anesthetic and in treating bursistis by direct injection of cortisone.

Although the disadvantages of hypodermic needles are recognized, no steps have been taken to eliminate or mitigate them. The ideal hypodermic needle should incorporate the advantages of existing needles, namely, low cost which permits disposal after one use, ability to deliver fluid accurately to a specified locus, and simplicity of operation. Additionally, the ideal hypodermic needle should be capable of penetrating the skin without damaging tissue, blood vessels, nerves and bone.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The method for administering a hypodermic injection of the present invention comprises the steps of puncatent O f Patented Sept. 22, 1970 ice turing the skin surface with a member having a sharp point and inserting into the puncture a tubular member having a blunt end and at least one opening in its surface at the blunt end. Finally, the blunt end of the tubular member is passed through the tissue below the skin, substantially beyond the depth of penetration of the member having the sharp point, by forcing it between the tissue fibers without exerting a cutting action.

The apparatus of the invention comprises a first tubular member having a sharp end for piercing the skin surface. A second tubular member is slidably mounted axially inwardly of the first tubular member. The second tubular member has a shank portion, a blunt end for penetrating the skin substantially beyond the depth of penetration of the sharp end of the first tubular member and at least one opening in its surface at the blunt end.

The blunt-nosed needle does not cut through tissue but instead tends to find the natural cleavage planes between tissue fibers and as a result destroys little or no tissue. The blunt end will neither enter blood vessels nor puncture nerves and does not injure bone upon direct impact. Although it is necessary to employ a sharp-tipped member to pierce the skin in order to start the bluntnosed needle, the damage caused thereby is minimal because the depth of penetration of the sharp-tipped member is very small (only skin deep as compared with that of the blunt-nosed needle and therefore the sharp tip never contacts substantial blood vessels, nerves or bones which generally lie well below he skin layer.

An embodiment of the present invention which provides a plurality of openings along the entire length of the needle has ben found to be particularly effective for administering local anesthetics. This feature ensures that all nerves along the path of the needle are anesthetized without having to move the needle tip from one location to another. Furthermore, since the needle discharges anesthetic in all directions it is not necessary that the needle be above the nerve to achieve the desired effect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a hypodermic needle of the present invention illustrating the first tubular member inserted into gum tissue;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a hypodermic needle of the present invention illustrating the blunt-nosed tubular member inserted into gum tissue;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view taken substantially along line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a first embodiment of the blunt-nosed tubular member of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a second embodiment of the blunt-nosed tubular member of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention is an apparatus for administering a hypodermic injection comprising a first tubular member 10 having a sharp end 11 for piercing the skin surface as shown in FIG. 1 and a flange 12 which limits the depth of penetration of the sharp end 11.

A second tubular member 15 is slidably mounted radially inwardly of the first tubular member 10. The second tubular member 15 includes a shank portion 16, a blunt end 17, and a fitting 18 of conventional design which enables the second tubular member 15 to be operatively connected to a conventional hypodermic syringe 19. The second tubular member further includes at least one opening 21 at the blunt end to allow the desired fluid to be injected into or withdrawn from the body of the patient as desired. Additional openings 22 may be provided about the circumferential surface of the blunt end 17 of the second tubular member (FIG. 4) to permit a wider dispersion of the fluid to be injected.

Another embodiment of the present invention (FIG. 5) includes openings 23 which are distributed at random about the blunt end portion 17 and the shank portion 16 of the second tubular member 15. The FIG. 5 embodiment is particularly useful for administering a local anesthetic because the distribution of openings 23 insures that all nerves along the path of the second tubular member 15 will be anesthesized, not just those nerves adjacent the blunt end. The FIG. 5 arrangement thus eliminates the necessity of discharging anesthetic as the second tubular member 15 is traversed beneath the skin. Furthermore, because the random distribution of openings 23 discharges the anesthetic in all directions, even the nerves above the second tubular member 15 will be affected, not just the nerves below as in the case of a conventional hypodermic apparatus having a single opening and depending solely on gravity for distribution.

The outside diameter of the blunt end portion 17 of the second tubular member 15 is slightly greater than the outside diameter of the shank portion 16 and, as shown in FIG. 3, the inside diameter of the first tubular member is dimensioned to engage frictionally the blunt end portion 17 of the second tubular member 15. The frictional force maintains the first tubular member 10 in position overlying the blunt end 17 of the second tubular member and prevents the first tubular member 10 from sliding with respect to the second tubular member 15 when the sharp end 11 of the first tubular member 10 penetrates the skin surface as shown in FIG. 1 and when the blunt end portion 17 of the second tubular member 15 withdraws from beneath the skin. The frictional engagement is overcome when the flange portion 12 of the first tubular member '10 abuts the skin surface, limiting the penetration of the sharp end 11. Thereafter, the second tubular member 15 is free to slide with respect to the first tubular member 10 as the blunt end 17 and the shank portion 16 penetrate substantially beyond the depth of penetration of the sharp end 11 of the first tubular member 10. This feature facilitates the use of the present apparatus and insures that the relatively small first tubular member 10 will not remain imbedded in the skin of the patient after the injection has been administered.

The method of the present invention comprises the steps of puncturing the surface of the skin with a member having a sharp point such as the first tubular member 10 and thereafter inserting a tubular member such as the second tubular member 15 into the puncture. The tubular member must be configured to pass through tissue by finding natural cleavage planes rather than by exert ing a cutting action and must have at least one opening at a forward end to permit passage of fluid therethrough. The tubular member, once inserted in the puncture, is passed into the tissue substantially beyond the depth of penetration of the member having a sharp point.

Although the present apparatus is particularly suited to practice the present method, the benefits and advantages enumerated herein may be achieved in general by following the steps described above.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for administering a hypodermic injection comprising:

(a) a first substantially rigid tubular member having a sharp end for piercing the skin surface and means for limiting the penetration of the sharp end, and

(b) a second substantially rigid tubular member slidably mounted radially inwardly of the first tubular member, the second tubular member having a shank portion, a blunt end portion at the lower end of said shank portion for penetrating tissue substantially beyond the depth of penetration of the sharp end of the first tubular member, said blunt end portion tapering outwardly from said shank portion to a point where the outside diameter thereof is greater than that of said shank portion and then tapering inwardly to a blunt end, and at least one opening in its surface at the blunt end portion.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the means for limiting the penetration of the sharp end comprises a flange portion about the exterior of said first tubular member.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 further including means for maintaining the first tubular member in position overlying the blunt end of the second tubular member and for preventing the first tubular member from sliding with respect to the second tubular member when the sharp end of the first tubular member penetrates the skin surface and when the blunt end of the second tubular member withdraws from beneath the skin.

4. Apparatus for administering a hypodermic injection comprising:

(a) a first tubular member having a sharp end for piercing the skin surface and means forrlimiting the penetration of the sharp end, and

(b) a second tubular member slidably mounted radially inwardly of the first tubular member, the second tubular member having a shank portion, a blunt end for penetrating tissue substantially beyond the depth of penetration of the sharp end of the first tubular member, and at least one opening in its surface at the blunt end, the outside diameter of the blunt end of the second tubular member being greater than the outside diameter of the shank portion of the second tubular member and inside diameter of at least a portion of the first tubular member dimensioned to cause frictional engagement between the first tubular member and the blunt end of the second tubular member.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the second tubular member has a plurality of openings in its surface at the blunt end.

'6. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the second tubular member has an opening in its surface at the blunt end and a plurality of openings at random locations on its shank portion.

7. A method for administering a hypodermic injection comprising the steps of:

(a) puncturing the surface of the skin to a predetermined depth and a first substatnially rigid tubular member having a sharp point, said first tubular member having slidably mounted radially inwardly therein a second substantially rigid tubular member,

(b) maintaining said first tubular member in place in the skin,

(0) inserting the second substantially rigid tubular member into the puncture through said first tubular member, the second tubular member having a shank portion and a blunt end for penetrating tissue, the outside diameter of the blunt end being greater than the outside diameter of the shank portion and an inside diameter of at least a portion of the first tubular member dimensioned to cause frictional engagement between the first tubular member and the blunt end of the second tubular member and having at least one opening in its surface at the blunt end,

((1) passing the second tubular member into the skin substatnially beyond the depth of penetration of the first tubular member, and

(e) removing the second tubular member from the skin whereby the first tubular member is also thereby removed from the skin.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,711,734- 6/1955 Moe 128276 2,922,420 1/1960 Cheng 128221 3,262,448 7/1966 Ring et a1. 128221 XR 6 3,310,051 3/1967 Schulte 128--350 XR 3,312,220 4/ 1967 Eisenberg 1'28-221 XR 3,415,250 12/ 1968 Peterson 128351 RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner K. L. HOWELL, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 128-347 

